When you think of cool boutique festivals, your mind usually drifts to small islands in Europe, the deserts of California, Aspen, and other cultural hubs, not Arkansas. I just so happened to be in Bentonville last year for a month-long stint while my wife worked on a feature film there, so I had some time to explore. The day I landed, I caught wind of a festival called FORMAT that had just happened, and of course, I landed a day too late.
This was the first time it had ever happened, and had I known about the line-up, I would have gotten my ass out there three days earlier. Acts like Richie Hawtin, Phoenix, War On Drugs, and the list goes on. So this year, we are going back to this magical little town to catch the second edition of Format. Bentonville is probably not on your radar unless you work with Walmart in some capacity, but this little hamlet has some insane museums like Crystal Bridges and The Momentary, great breweries, cool people, and some other best mountain biking in the country. Oh, and some incredible musical events like Format and a ton of regular concert events. Last year I caught Four Tet and Ben UFO at The Momentary (where they are hosting this year’s Format); these are artists that you can barely catch in LA, SF, New York, and other major dots on the map. The crowd was totally up for it, and I was totally blown away!
Yes, this is Walmart country, and the original Walmart “5 and Dime” store is right in the town square, now a museum showing the history of all things Walmart. The Walton family has invested heavily in their hometown, and Crystal Bridges is considered to be one of the best museums in the country dedicated to American artists and draws art lovers from around the world. So make sure to give yourself some extra time to hit the museums, breweries, and the C21 Hotel to check out their collection.
Check out the line-ups below, and if you are not already going, put this festival on your to-do list for next year. Stand by for the festival write-up; time to jump on the plane to Bentonville.
LINE UP / SCHEDULE
David Ireland is a professional strategist, creative, and marketer. He began his career in 1995 as creator and publisher of BPM Magazine. In August 2000, BPM Magazine merged with djmixed.com LLC, an online media company based in Los Angeles, which later evolved into the Overamerica Media Group [OMG] in 2003. In 2009, Ireland left Overamerica Media Group to serve as the VP of Marketing at Diesel. In 2011, he returned to his roots in media and cofounded the online electronic music publication Magnetic Magazine and created The Magnetic Agency Group. In June 2018, Ireland joined Winter Music Conference (now owned by Ultra Music Festival) as the Director to lead the reboot for 2019 and usher in a new era for the iconic brand. He served as Chief Marketing Officer at Victrola for three years, guiding product innovation and brand growth. He currently serves on the advisory board of Audiopool, a new music tech startup focused on AI-generated music licensing and artist revenue models.
